A contentious campaign to overturn Berkeley’s recently passed Downtown Area Plan comes to an end at 5 p.m. today, Thursday, when opponents face a deadline to turn in petitions decertifying last month’s Berkeley City Council passage of the plan. -more-

The UC Theater became Berkeley’s latest concert venue last week when the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board unanimously approved a use permit modification at a July 13 public meeting. -more-

Four generations of alumni joined activists, community members and lawyers on the UC Berkeley School of Law steps to protest former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo’s return to campus Monday. -more-

One after another, impassioned speakers from Richmond’s African-American community rose Wednesday night to heap praises on a Berkeley developer’s shoreline casino resort plans. -more-

Reza Valiyee claims to have invented what physicists have long declared impossible: the perpetual motion machine. -more-

The 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program results brought good news for Berkeley public schools Tuesday, with more students performing above the state average in reading and writing and math. -more-

The California Department of Education Friday launched a new website to help parents and teachers understand the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program better. -more-

At its first meeting after summer break, the Berkeley Board of Education Wednesday recommended changes to Berkeley High School’s School Governance Council. -more-

UC Berkeley and its Department of Energy-funded laboratory in the hills overlooking the city lost a major legal battle Monday in federal court. -more-

Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett announced at the Aug. 12 board meeting that the district had hired its first director of special education. -more-

Due to a production error, an Aug. 13 story on the Cuban 5 was incomplete. The full story is available on the Daily Planet’s website at www.berkeleydailyplanet.com. -more-

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said today that police are “very concerned” about a 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who has now been missing for nine days. -more-

A state prison inmate serving time for a Berkeley armed robbery spree has been charged with the Feb. 19, 2006, murder of a popular Berkeley High School graduate and youth football coach. -more-

Saved [in] the Bay -more-

Two angry men in search of money attacked victims in the Telegraph Avenue area last week, one armed with a stun gun and the other with a lead-lined glove, according to campus police. -more-

By Al Winslow -more-

In his Aug. 13 commentary “Crying Wolf at KPFA,” Akio Tanaka passed on a restatement by KPFA Board member Tracy Rosenberg of an e-mail by Daily Planet reporter J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. In the interests of clarification, the text of the original e-mail by Mr. Allen-Taylor to Ms. Rosenberg was as follows: In answer to a query by Ms. Rosenberg of the identity of the individual who first contacted the Planet about the alleged $100,000 transfer of funds from KPFA to Pacifica Foundation, Mr. Allen-Taylor replied “Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question. It is my understanding that the individual who first contacted the Daily Planet has requested that their name not be associated with the story. As a professional journalist, I’m bound to honor that request.” -more-

DOWNTOWN PLAN -more-

Within the United States people of all races are having the same conversation blacks have had in barber shops, beauty salons, on street corners and at kitchen tables for generations—our seemingly imbalanced relationship with the police. The arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., reminds me of the night I spent in jail. While driving from work in downtown Oakland to my home in west Berkeley, a police car stopped me. My tags were expired but I had already paid the renewal fees. I simply awaited the stickers in the mail. I confidently handed the officer my driver’s license, proof of insurance and a receipt showing I had paid my registration. After dispatching my information, he approached my car to inform me there was a warrant for my arrest and he would send me to jail. -more-

In her July 16 letter June Brott states that people will be laughing at those that signed the July 9 advertisement, “We are Jews.” I, for one, am not laughing. The ad condemned Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Gaza and its brutal bombing campaign last December, as well as the thuggish tactics of some of Israel’s supporters attempting to censor our local paper. Ms. Brott states that the Israeli Palestinian conflict is “one of the world’s most complex, difficult conflicts, one that has defied solution for more than 60 years.” I believe her argument that this issue is so complex is used to create apathy—apathy which allows billions of our tax dollars (annually) to go on paying for Israel’s illegal and murderous acts, and creates no motivation on Israel’s part to work towards peace (with all the might, why negotiate?). -more-

Unfortunately, health care in the United States is a privilege, not a right. Opponents of health care insurance reform prefer the status quo,  that is, obscene profits for the health insurance industry while consumers pay more for less coverage. Our present health care system is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. And too many Americans do not even have the “privilege” of health care.   -more-

About five years ago, I was swimming in the Strawberry Canyon swimming pool, which is associated with the UC Berkeley faculty and their families. It was a hot, sunny day, and I had been teaching all morning. Taking advantage of the faculty prices, I find swimming a great bargain. As I thrust my right arm over my shoulder and turned my head, I caught a glimpse of two policemen standing at the end of the pool. -more-

In his run up to the election Barack Obama frequently invoked the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and his theory of bringing powerful but opposing personalities together in order to govern better. -more-

Now that the dust has settled and Californians can see the drastic consequences of the state budget train wreck, it’s time to consider 10 actions to fix California. -more-

Incoming Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts won over the crowd at his coming-out press conference Monday afternoon with a bit of hometown theatrics. Asking himself the rhetorical question of why he chose to transfer to Oakland from a similar position in Long Beach, Mr. Batts reached down under the table, pulled out a Raiders cap, pulled it on his head, pronounced himself a lifelong Raiders fan, and began to name off all the old-school silver-and-black stars from the glory days, throwing in a couple of ‘7os Oakland Athletics for good measure. The collection of newsfolk and camerapeople and assorted curious and powerfuls and interesteds at Mayor Ron Dellums’ City Hall conference room roared with laughter and approval, and though he got a couple of pointed questions along the way, Mr. Batts had cemented himself then and there as a legitimate Oaktowner, a member of the club. -more-

We were strolling under the paperbarks (irresistibly dubbed “fluffula truffula trees” by one Daily Planet reader) on Jefferson Street near Bancroft, and it occurred to me that it’s time for my unofficially annual tree rant. -more-

Legend has it that in the 1920s, a small plane crashed outside the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Taken to Moore Cottage, on the slope behind the main hotel building, the injured pilot is said to have expired before the doctor’s arrival. Hotel employees and guests have reported seeing a ghost descending the stairs in Moore Cottage, dressed in a leather jacket, pilot’s cap, goggles, and a white silk scarf. -more-

OK, I don’t actually hate Norm Abrams of “New Yankee Workshop,” “This Old House,” etc.; I sort of like the guy. It’s nice to see someone on TV who would never have made it based on his headshot and a screen-test. Those other folks on “Hometime”—so cute and all-American-looking and blond: them, I hate. (Kachunk, Blam, Kachunk, Blam.) Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like large caliber gunfire to sooth the chakras. -more-